Wednesday, August 31, 2011

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, KEVIN

August 31, 2011

Aside from the visit from "Irene" this has been one gorgeous month.  But alas, today is  the last day of August.  I will be sorry to see her go.  My youngest grandson had a 14th birthday this past weekend, but because my mind was elsewhere, I forgot to publish birthday wishes here for him.  You'll have to agree Kevin, this was a different kind of birthday.  I love you and I hope the year ahead is a good one for you.
Here's a photo of Kevin among some of the havoc that Irene created on his special day.


I went to work last night only to find that there was still no power there.  Plus, I had to find my way around a couple of road blocks because of downed trees and wires.   Mrs. was holding up pretty good considering there was nothing for her to do all day but sit and listen to her little portable radio.  They had a generator hooked up to the refrigerator, microwave and water pump (they have well water).  For light, they had candles and flashlights.  With all of this, it was not a bad night.

This morning when I looked outside, the mist across the street was so pretty I had to photograph it.


I also thought it might be fun to take photos of a few storm survivors.  It's amazing how such delicate things can make it through the storm unscathed while huge trees were being uprooted.


Notice how the dew on this tiny rosebud makes it look as though it were sugar coated.


In this photo, note how the branch snapped and broke, but that beautiful flag came through the storm just fine.  Sort of like the spirit of America.


I've been asked about my "dwarfs" so for those of you who do not know, my big old house is sort of like a boarding house.  I rent out some rooms to help pay the mortgage and the upkeep expenses.  The tenants were always men, so I referred to them as dwarfs to protect their identity.  Sort of like Snow White and the seven dwarfs.  This way, I can chat about the goings on about here. My little apartment is attached to the house and used to be the horse barn.  In her day, my house was a real beauty.  Now, she's a grand old lady hanging in there the best she can.

I've chewed your ear off, so now I think I will give Tootsie her meds and a treat, then I'm off to the supermarket to buy coffee and milk.  Till tomorrow, Y'all have a wonderful day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Oh What A Beautiful Morning!!

August 30, 2011

Oh boy, oh boy!!  The power, cable TV and phones in my area all came back on somewhere between 1 am and 3 am this morning.  The sun is shining, and there is a beautiful cool breeze coming in through my living room window.  As I sit here typing, I am enjoying my first cup of  coffee since the power went out.  Do I have to tell you how gooooooood it tastes? 

I want to thank all of you for your caring and kind wishes.  We were very lucky here.  All of my family is safe.  The physical damages that occurred can all be cleaned up and eventually put back. 

I did go to all the stores that were open and sold generators and batteries, but there were absolutely no generators and no "D" batteries to be found.  Thankfully, our batteries lasted,  and yesterday afternoon Eddie brought us a generator.  We were able to hook up the refrigerators and the freezer. and a lamp out in the house and one for me.

All around the neighborhoods folks are out with chain saws cutting up the fallen trees and branches.  There is so much clean up to be done.  A friend of mine has been on vacation since before the storm and is due home today.  I just learned that her town also lost power.  Gosh, I hope she doesn't go home to a messy refrigerator. 

NEWS FLASH-- (on TV right now) -  President Obama's uncle has been arrested.  He has been living here for ten years, and has a drivers license and social security card.  HE IS AN ILLEGAL.  How did he get these items?  He was arrested for drunk driving and he almost hit someone.  Will he be deported?  Probably not.  Obama's aunt is an illegal too, and the government lets her stay.  Makes me wonder how many others in the family are here illegally.  No wonder Obama is so intent on passing all sorts of laws giving great benefits and privileges to illegals.  (I know I'm not nice, but I can't help it.)

And I was in such a good mood!  Let me show you some photos I took in my garden Sunday morning in the rain.  In between heavy downpours I thought I would get some photos in case the storm created a bit of havoc. 





Yesterday, once the generator was hooked up, I had quite a bit of  clean up to do in my refrigerator.  Overall, it wasn't too bad though.  Now I have a batch of laundry to do, and candles to put away.  Tootsie seems much livelier today now that there is light everywhere she goes, and she can watch her animal channel on TV.

The TV is saying that there are still more than 5 million folks without power, and more than 40 deaths so far from the storm.  What a different type of hurricane this was for a lot of us.  It sort of crept in to our communities wearing quiet sneakers, whapped us with a huge wooden bat creating all sorts of damage, and then stole on to the next neighborhood leaving us with the sun shining on our frustrated faces.

So many folks did not heed the warnings.  It looked like the storm wasn't very bad when it was here, but oh my what a surprise a lot of folks were in for.  Hopefully, next time more of the unbelievers will believe.  Yes, we were all very lucky, and I thank God for this.  Things could have been so much worse.

That's all for this morning.  Stay safe, and till tomorrow, Y'all have a fantabulous day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Irene, You Wicked Wicked Lady!!!!!!

August 29, 2011

Good morning from our devastated little corner of New England.   The sun is shining and it's a gorgeous day.  However, that's all that's good so far.  Yesterday morning, Irene managed to shut down all our electrical power, cable TV, internet and phone service.  All we have is a big dark house.  We have food in our refrigerators and freezers but we are afraid to open the doors for fear that all the cold will come out and the food will go bad.  Oh well, we have to open the doors anyway in order to eat the food.  It's not a pretty picture.

The good news is that none of us got hurt.  Trees came down in my daughter's yard and destroyed their fences.  Thank goodness nothing hit her house or car.  We have a lot of downed branches, leaves and twigs.  We did lose a couple of dead trees out back, but thankfully nothing hit the house that I know of. 

The dwarfs are getting unruly because they are bored.  They are tired of eating peanut butter sandwiches and sitting around with nothing to do.  Gee whiz!  I wonder why they don't just drag out one of our board games or go for a walk.  I would suggest that they might go out and clean up all the debris in the yard, but that would probably send them into shock. 

I still have my cell phone, and I can charge it's battery in my car.  I may have to call out of work for the rest of the week.  I'll know soon.  The electric company says it could be 3 to 5 days before they can try to fix our outage problem.  And, without electricity, the cable (TV, internet and phone) won't be up and running anytime too soon. 

I took a chance that Walmart might be open with power and was there at 7 am this morning, but they cannot open because they have no power either.  I tried to use the internet at a McDonald's but it wouldn't hook on for me.  So now I am sitting at my daughter Deanne's house, charging my laptop battery and posting here. 

I'm hoping that someone somewhere will have a generator for me to purchase today so that I can at least hook the freezer and refrigerators, and I have to buy another supply of batteries.  Ours are almost depleted.  We are using candles and flashlights to see at home. 

Folks, if I don't post tomorrow, I'll try to get out and come back here on Wednesday to use Deanne's internet.  Gosh, this is a pain in the patootie!!!   The storm itself was not too bad here, but the damage it wreaked is tremendous.  Right down the stree from here there is a huge tree about 12 inches in diameter that was uprooted and dumped on the property owner's house and car.  There's a lot of that sort of stuff all over. 

How about a couple of photos of a butterfly and an adorable little moth?  I took these a few days ago at work.



Want to see this little beauty up close and personal?


Well, now I have to take Tootsie home to get her morning meds.  We left too early this morning to take care of this.  Then I will have to be off shopping to see about more batteries and a generator if I am lucky.  Till my next post, Y'all stay safe and have a great day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

I Have An Extra Bar Of Soap If You Want It!

August 28, 2011

Good morning.  First let me say thank you for caring and wishing us safely through the storm.  Although it's quite soggy outside right now, it's really quite nice if you like playing in the rain.  Want to have some fun?  If it's raining where you are, put on a tank top and a pair of shorts (or a bathing suit) and grab a bar of soap and get outside.  Be a child again!! 

When we were little kids, we all used to play out in the summer rain and wash up at the same time.  I wonder why kids don't get to have this kind of fun anymore.  I suggested that the dwarfs might want to do this, and they gave me a rather funny look like "Are you nuts?"  Folks, this is a nice cool, refreshing rain that is falling.  At least in between the downpours. 

All through the night and this morning so far, we have been getting bands of downpours that you can't see through so good, and a few wind gusts here and there.  The worst will be here in a while, but it might not be too bad.  We mostly have to worry about flooding, loss of power, and lots of trees and branches coming down. 

I spoke with Audrey (my daughter in Virginia) a little while ago, and she says they are still without power.  Their cell phone service went down early yesterday, and came back on around 3 a.m. this morning.  A utility pole broke and came crashing down in their backyard, and thankfully missed both their shed and their house.  Must have been an angel guiding that pole down.

So far, 11 people have died from the storm.  The waves along the coastline are wicked huge!  I have to say that as dangerous as this storm is, those waves roaring in and crashing on the coast are really quite awesome to look at.  Dangerous, but awesome!!

Let's lighten things up with some fun photos of  dragonflies. 





Now I'm going to make another cup of coffee, and give Tootsie her meds.  She will be happy to know that I will be staying home with her tonight.  My car is safely tucked in between the shed and the house, and so far all is well here.  The center of the storm is now overhead New York, so it should be here soon.  Stay well everyone and be careful.  Till tomorrow, Y'all have a good day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

It's "Dunkin" Time

August 27, 2011

Here we go again.  It's 3:40 am, and I've been up since 1:30 am when a rather horrid little dwarf woke me from my badly needed sleep.  He called me on the phone from outside saying that he had lost his keys and could not get in the house.  I told him to go away.  (not really, but I wanted to!)  He was rather obnoxious when I let him in so I don't think he will be here much longer.  We do not need this type of person in our home.

So far, I've cleaned up the kitchen, washed the dishes from last night, and made a whole new batch of baggies filled with water to put in the freezer.  I put a big batch in the new freezer last night, and they were already frozen so I moved them to the refrigerator's freezer to make room for more.  I'm not counting on losing the electric power, but it can't hurt to be ready.

Eddie will be picking me up in a few hours so that we can go buy me a new sump pump for the basement.  If I can find a generator that I can afford I will buy that too.  It can't hurt to be prepared for this storm and any future storms.  At the least, we are expecting a lot of heavy rain and wind.

I've been following the weather channel and the hurricane reports, and it's looking like it has already hit (or is about to hit) the southern Virginia area with lots of wind and rain.  There are also some tornado threats in that area.  Daughter number one lives in that area, and I'm hoping everyone there is okay.

Folks, as long as we have electric power and cell towers I will be posting and updating here about the hurricane.  If I don't post all day, it just means that we have lost our power or a cell tower has been blown down.  However, I'm not anticipating anything like that. 

The hurricane has been downgraded to a category one, but the wind and water damage will still be tremendous wherever it strikes.  This baby is going all the way up the coast to Maine.  (if it stays on track)  The eastern coast of North Carolina is expected to get over a foot of rain from this storm.

The one good thing I'm noticing is that a lot of the shelters are allowing people to bring their pets with them.  IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!  Our fur babies are very precious and should not be left behind!!

Okay now.  How about some cute photos from our outing at the park.  I call this first photo "Double Dunkin" and the second photo is called "Group Dunkin".  But then if you look at the last photo, you'll see that it's really "Pond Dunkin" time.  I have no clue what these geese are dunking for or why they are doing it in such a large group but they seem to be having a grand time.




Update -- some parts of North Carolina have already lost their power, and it looks like this will be happening quite frequently all the way up the coast as the storm moves north.  I've seen a lot of hurricanes in my lifetime, but I can't remember ever seeing one as big as this one. 

Well, I'm starting to get really tired.  Maybe I can try to catch a nap for a couple of hours.  Gee, that would be so nice!! So I think Tootsie and I will trudge back to our comfy little bed and try to catch up with the Sandman.  Till tomorrow, Y'all stay safe and have a fantabulous day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Sleepless In New England

August 26, 2011

It's 4:30 in the morning, and I can't sleep.  What else is new?  It's psychological, I think.  I know I have to get some sleep and get up early for work, so my body says no, no, no.  You shall not sleep tonight!!  I think it has something to do with the fact that I worked nights for so many years, and my body does not like being forced to sleep at night in order to be up early to work in the morning. 

Or maybe I just have a lot on my mind.  I'm keeping an eye on Hurricane Irene.  My house is surrounded by tall trees, so I'm always a bit leery during storms.  Plus, I think I'm going to have to break down and buy a generator in case of future power outages.  It's always something!

How about more photos of our resident commorant?  I got so many good photos of this bird that it's hard to narrow them down to only one or two favorites.  Here's a couple of close ups. 



And here's a full photo showing our bird enjoying the sun, with a close up of it's face.



I'm not sure which particular commorant this one is.  According to my books, it's most likely the double crested commorant.  However, it looks just like the neotropic commorant, which isn't supposed to be in this part of the country.  It's difficult to tell by the pictures and descriptions in the books.  So, whichever one this bird is, we'll keep on enjoying it while it's here.

Now I think I'll enjoy my cup of coffee while I watch the weather channel on TV.  Irene is making a mess of things along the Eastern coast, and folks are evacuating from North Carolina all the way up to New York.  They are still forecasting heavy winds and rain for us folks in New England, with the bulk of the nasty weather on Sunday morning.  Things could change, though.  We'll have to wait and watch.

If you're in the path of the storm, stay well and don't forget your pets!  It's times like this when they need you most!  Till tomorrow, Y'all stay dry and have a wonderful day.

Hugs, Edna B. 

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Hurricane Irene Is Getting Too Close For Comfort

August 25, 2011

Good morning.  There is a wonderful cool breeze coming through my window, and boy does it feel good!  This morning's weather is just scrumptious!  Summer would be perfect weatherwise if we could just have August for the whole three months. 

I have just turned on the weather channel for the latest news on Hurricane Irene.  Oh my, it looks like we have some thunderstorms coming this afternoon.  It says that Sunday will probably be our worst day for heavy rains and wind.  This is looking like a really nasty storm.  I'll have to pay close attention to the weather reports.

Yesterday, when Janet and Tootsie and I went to the park, we were in for a treat.  Our resident commorant was sitting on his rock way out in the pond.  We got adventurous and went looking for a path through the surrounding woods that might bring us closer to where our bird was.  Here is where the path led us.  That's me in the little red circle.


Our trek was well worth it, because once we were close enough, our friendly commorant was more than willing to pose for some photos.



Now I need to get dressed and ready to go out.  My grandson, Steve, and I have a couple of errands to do this morning before he leaves for work.  After that, Tootsie and I have to go to the hospital to pick up her meds.  Busy, busy, busy.  Till tomorrow, Y'all have a fantabulous day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Happy Anniversary, Kyra and Jan

August 24, 2011

Yes, folks, today is another simply GORGEOUS day.  I truly hope some of this wonderful weather makes it's way over to Holland so that Kyra and Jan can have a spectacular day while they celebrate their wedding anniversary.  I'm wishing you both many more happy years together.

Today is my lazy day of the week.  Daughter in law will be coming by soon and maybe we'll take Tootsie and the cameras and go out again.  What a lovely thought!   Not that I need more photos of the feathered creatures at the park, but they are so willing to be photographed.   Here's a beautiful shot of a blue eyed goose.  Actually, I believe the blue in the eye is a reflection of the blue in the water.


And of course, I have to share a couple of photos of my favorite little guys, the gulls.  They have such wonderful personalities and are such a joy to watch.



Yesterday, I finally finished my contribution for the September GI Blog Train.  This will be posted in a week.  Gosh, is it just me?  Or has September speeded up it's arrival?  I'm just getting to enjoy this beautiful month of August and there's only a week of it left.  Where have I been?

I think I need to get on the phone now and order Tootsie's meds.  One of her meds has only one pill left.  If I call now, maybe I can pick it up tomorrow.  Time just seems to be getting ahead of me!  Well, that's all for today.  Till tomorrow, Y'all have a magnificent day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Flashback To Another Day

August 23, 2011

We're enjoying another gorgeous morning here in New England.  It's a great day to be outside with a camera, so hopefully that's what Tootsie and I will be doing in a little while.  Maybe we can talk one of the dwarfs into joining us.  It's always more fun when someone else is along.

A couple days ago, I finally broke down and ordered Photoshop CS5 Extended.  I have been putting it off, but seeing as how I use this program almost on a daily basis, I thought it was time to finally buy it.  I also ordered a couple more of the "Extreme" memory cards for my camera.  Santa won't have to visit me this year.  I'm all set.

That reminds me of a day many years ago.  Shortly after I had graduated with my Masters Degree, my hubby took me to Faneuil Hall in Boston.  We had a wonderful time dining and shopping, and later in the day we saw Santa Claus sitting in a big chair having his photo taken with lots of children.  At one point, Santa invited me to come sit on his lap and tell him what I might want for Christmas.  I thought about it and then told him that I really didn't need anything - I already had everything I wanted.  He said that no one had ever told him that, and gave me a bit hug and wished me a Merry Christmas.

Jeesh, now I'm getting mushy.  How about an artsy photo?  This is one of my yellow roses that I tweaked in Photoshop with an "ocean ripple" filter.  I think it's rather pretty.


And here's another interesting photo that I took shortly after a rain shower.  This particular plant was covered with hundreds of little water beads that glistened like tiny jewels.  I think it's amazing how all those tiny little water beads can cling to the buds and not fall off.


Have I lost most all my marbles?  Probably, but it's good to enjoy the simple things in life.  They don't cost anything, and they bring so much pleasure into our lives. 

Now I think it's time for me to maybe do a couple of things here, like vacuum the carpet and maybe wash the laundry room floor.  Then I want to get outdoors for a while before I start working on the September collab kit.  Later, I want to read more of the book my friend sent me.  There's so much to learn about  the camera.  I wonder if I'll ever be able to take it all in.

Well, that's it for this morning.  Till tomorrow, Y'all have a fabulous day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Unscrambling My Brains

August 22, 2011

Ah, it's a gorgeous morning here in my little part of the world.  I was able to sleep late this morning, so I think my scrambled brains are back in working order.  By now, you've all noticed that I actually posted today's links for "Tropical Sunset" yesterday.  So if you didn't stop by yesterday, scroll down and pick up your links.  I am so used to working on Sunday night, that yesterday I thought it was already Monday because I knew I had the night off.  DUH!

 I have just changed to a new medication too.  God bless the insurance companies!!  They now have the right to tell us which medications we can take and which ones we cannot take.  This is the second one that they have changed on me.  What we actually need is not very important to the insurance company.  They are only interested in how much money they can make or keep.

I did make a nice QP for you, but you will have to go to Minky's blog to get it.  While you're there, check out all the other wonderful things she has posted there, including a new challenge for September.  Here is the preview.


And here is the link to Minky's blog.  http://minkythings.blogspot.com

This morning I am sharing a couple of photos of a charming little duck who is enjoying a few quiet moments in the sun.



And now it's time for me to get busy around here.  Plus, I have some blog hopping to catch up on, as well as a batch of emails.  Till tomorrow, Y'all have a wonderful day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Such Cushy Jobs Our Politicians Have!

August 21, 2011

It's only 5:30 a.m. and it's dark outside, and there is a cricket chirping like there's no tomorrow.  The one sad thing about all of this is the loss of daylight.  Our days are getting much shorter now.  Somehow, this makes me a little bit sad. 

Folks, yesterday the newspaper had an article that was really bothersome.  It was titled "Per Diem:  Reimbursed for commute to House."    Under state law,  we pay our representatives travel expenses to and from work every day that they work.  I find this quite disgusting at a time when our economy is in such a bad state.  As taxpayers, we do not get reimbursed for our travel expenses, so why should the representatives? 

Our lawmakers (in my eyes) actually cost us an enormous amount of money, and in return we get very little honest legislation.  The newspaper article stated that during the week of August 15-19, the House met for a total of 29 minutes while the Senate met for a total of 16 minutes.  For this, they get paid rather nicely with a lot of fantastic benefits along with travel and other expenses being reimbursed.  So far this year, one of these travel reimbursements was as high as $7,300 and quite a few were between $3,700 and $4,770.  How can this honestly be justified?  (In all fairness, there were some representatives listed that do not request to be reimbursed for travel.)

And the government can't figure out why we are in so much financial trouble???   Instead of wealthy folks in office, we need some down to earth, honest, hard working citizens running our state and our country.  We need to insist that our citizens take more pride in their state and country, and we need to start taking better care of our own citizens before we support the rest of the world.

On a cheerier note,  here's a couple photos of geese that I took at our local park.  This first one has such beautiful markings, while the second one is showing off a bit of his own authority.



Also this morning, I will post parts 5 and 6 of "Tropical Sunset."  I hope you've been enjoying this kit as much as we've enjoyed making it for you. 


Here are your  download links:

EXPIRED

When you have finished downloading, do stop by Su's blog for a visit and pick up her parts.  Here is her preview.


Now it's time for me to check on the Mrs, and get a few things done here so that I can get ready to go home.  That's the best part of my work shift, going home.  I suppose we all feel that way.  Till tomorrow, Y'all have a fantabulous day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Summer Is Slip, Slip, Slipping By

August 20, 2011

Don't look now, but there is less than two weeks left in this month of August.  This means that September and Autumn are right around the corner.  Ouch!  It's time to buckle down and start working on my 2012 calendar, and finish up my holiday shopping.  Don't laugh!  It doesn't take long for the holidays to get here once August is gone by.

It's also time to start thinking about which new Spring bulbs we want to plant this Fall.  I'm thinking maybe a lot of different colored tulips and some more daffodils would look nice in front of (and in between) the summer blooming plants.  I would also like more irises, and at least a couple of Rose of Sharon bushes. 

There is a fellow who lives not too far from me who does a lot of yard woodwork.  He has some really beautiful benches and arch trellises on display in his side yard.  I think I would like to go have a closer look at these. 

Today I have a couple of photos of our local gulls.  I have to admit that these are among my favorite subjects to photo.  They have so much expression on their little faces.  Plus, they are beautiful.



It's already afternoon, so I need to get busy here.  There's laundry to do, and I need to vacuum the carpet.  Sigh... so much to do, and none of it is the fun stuff!  Till tomorrow, Y'all have a wonderful day. 

Hugs, Edna B.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Honk! Honk!

August 19, 2011

Good morning.  It's back to work for me.  My work week starts on Friday and ends on Monday.  Usually.  Unless, of course, we make some shift switches.  I'm thinking though, that I might like to make a permanent switch at least once a month so that I can have a weekend night off.  I'll have to think about this.

Yesterday, I started burning a lot of my photo files to disk because my laptop hard drive is getting too full.  I suppose I should have been doing this right along, but I keep the photos on my PC because then they are handy to use.  I know, not a smart reason. 

Today, I'm sharing photos of one of the geese from the park.  These critters can be very vocal and noisy, especially when another goose gets too close to their partner.  Even so, they are quite beautiful.




I started reading some of the materials that my friend Mary Ann sent to me, and boy oh boy, I have so much to learn!  I read for a few hours, then I had to stop to see if I could process a lot of the information.  This is going to keep me busy for quite a long time.

I also made a new layout of my granddaughter Jazzy.  This little lady just loves to cook, and sent me a photo of herself cooking a batch of summer squash that I had sent over.



The Mrs. has awakened so it's time for me to get to work here.  Till tomorrow, Y'all have a wonderful day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

A Great Day For A Photo Shoot

August 18, 2011

It's only 5:30 a.m. so I'm not sure what sort of morning we will have, but the weatherman is promising temps in the mid eighties with little or no rain.  Sounds like another fantastic August day.  Yesterday was simply gorgeous; so we took advantage of it and headed for the park to shoot some photos.

I took almost 500 photos, and most of them came out good.  Now I'm having to go through them to pick out my favorites.  Janet (daughter in law) was trying a DSLR for the first time, and was having a grand old time.  Here's a shot of her taking Tootsie's picture. 


And of course, here's a photo of my little girl in her pink stroller.  Isn't she just the sweetest?  She loves her stroller because she can see everything, yet she's safe from bugs, lttle kids and big dogs.


Normally, I would let the net screen down, but there were a couple of very big dogs nearby, so it was best to leave the screen up.  There was a family there with a couple of large great danes.  I took a lot of photos of the dogs, which of course I emailed to the owners later.  Here's a couple of photos that I took of one of the dogs. 



I also tried out a new memory card with my camera.  I have been using SanDisk Ultra and I've been quite happy with them.  However, I thought I would try the SanDisk Extreme, and oh my!  This new card is so much faster!!  I'll have to get a couple more of them. 

The mailman brought me a package of goodies that I've been waiting for, so I'll be spending some time with these today.  Also, yesterday, I finished designing my new Christmas card, and got it uploaded and ordered.  Not a bad deal, either.  I ordered 50 cards with envelopes and it only cost $30.66 including the shipping charge.  If you're interested, I use Vistaprint.  Just click on their name if you would like more information.

That's all for this morning.  There's lots to do today, so I gotta get moving.  Till tomorrow, Y'all have a wonderful day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Mmmmmm, I Could Take August All Year Round!

August 17, 2011

Oh, what a beautiful morning!  At the moment, it is sunny but not too hot with a nice cool breeze.  I have just opened the window here in the living room, and am relishing the cool fresh air.  Ahhhhhhhhhh.

Yesterday, I did not have a chance to get out to do my errands, so today we will hop in the car and go!  I had ordered a couple of new faster memory cards for my camera and they came in  the mail yesterday.  So today we will have to stop by the park for some photos and try out the new cards.

Last Friday, I was able to get some new dragonfly photos.  The difference in the color of the background is because I was playing with different ISO's. 




Note how in the first photo, it looks like the dragonfly is smiling?  And then in the second photo, he is actually laughing?  Or maybe I just have a great imagination?  Now if only the birds would sit and pose like this for me!!

As for the photography courses that I mentioned yesterday, I think I may be going with Hummie's new class that starts in September.  I've read some of her student reviews, and they sound like this might be the place for me. 

Today's big news if that daughter number one has got a new hair cut.  I cropped the photo and borrowed one of Minky's frames to showcase her photo.  Thank you, Minky.   Audrey, I love your new hairdo.  It looks so young and springy.  Very nice daughter number one!

Well, that's all for today.  Eddie will be here soon, so I really should get dressed and start my day.  till tomorrow, Y'all have a fantabulous day.

Hugs, Edna B.